I was given this Mre. d' Armes St. Etienne 6 shot revolver revolver. M'le 1892 and S1893 are stamped on the barrel. It also has a (circle)P and a (circle) L stamped on the barrel. Serial # starts with F. Can't figure out what round it shoots or any info. I figured you guys have the most info. Thank you in advance for any information. This gun looks very old.

Last edited by hacook; November 13, 2009 at 04:25 PM.
Reason: Add info

Take it to your local well qualified gunsmith and have them give it a serious once over before attempting to put any ammo down the barrel.
You need to always remember that the older firearms were designed around the old style powders and todays powders burn faster and are more efficient in their combustion. If you are not very careful you could possibly get seriously injured by firing hot loads thru it by accident.

It is a beautiful looking gun.

If your smith says it's safe to shoot, get some ammo and have a few cylinders of fun with it and then put it away for the future generations. It will certainly be a very nice conversation piece.

If I owned it, I would have it professionally cleaned and lubricated and make a safe queen out of it.

It's probably worth little more than $150 or so, as a guess.
But I may be very wrong too.
Most of the really old european handguns lacked the refinement of the american revolvers of the same eras.

the 8mm Lebel revolver cartridge is another French cartridge that was unique to them, just like their 11 mm French Ordnance Revolver round from 1873, and their .32 Longue round that was fired in the MAS 1935 semi-auto.

None of those rounds is very powerful or was ever used much outside of France.

I've seen reports over the years that you can make generally suitable cases using .32-20 cases.

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That revolver was designed for smokeless powder. Fiocchi was making ammo for it, I don't know if they still do. Cases can be made from .32-20 (.32-20 factory ammo is too long for the cylinder) and .32 S&W Long can be safely fired in it with fair accuracy, but the cases will bulge.

The gun looks funny, but they are hell for sturdy, making a Colt, Ruger, or S&W DA look delicate. I have no hesitation in shooting mine, but that "wrong way" swing cylinder drives me nuts.

I was searching for some info on mine and ran across your thread; mine has different stamps; on the barrel S1898, (circled)J and (circled)B ,plus, serial # starts with G. From looking at others on the i-net I think 1898 may be the year; any info on how to decipher this info would be appreciated.
Thanks

Last edited by gazel; January 30, 2013 at 10:14 PM.
Reason: correction

Fiocchi does make ammo for it,,,
But according to a post from another forum,,,
They only make one run of it every several years or so.

I have 50 rounds of the Fiocchi that I'm saving for the display box,,,
I bought 100 rounds of the reloaded stuff to shoot,,,
Once a year I take her (Margeaux) dancing,,,
She's a surprisingly accurate revolver.

I have seen two at gunshows in recent years,,,
One seller was asking $225.00 and another wanted $325.00.

I really don't know if those prices were reasonable but I'm sorry I didn't buy one,,,
What a nice pair they would have made in a nice wooden dueling pistol box.

Hope this helps.

Aarond

P.S. Just ordered 200 rounds of Fiocchi from Midway,,,Thanks for the link MrBorland.

.

__________________
Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once.
Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it?
Combat: "A Silent Cry"Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond!(most of the time)

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